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Saudi prince calls for lower oil prices

High oil prices may drive the United States and Europe to alternative sources, he says

The Saudi prince says oil should cost $70 to $80 a barrel, well below its current $100

America remains a good investment target, Al-Waleed bin Talal says

(CNN) -- Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal said Sunday that he wants oil prices to drop so that the United States and Europe don't accelerate efforts to wean themselves off his country's supply.

In an interview broadcast Sunday on "CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS," the grandson of the founding king of modern Saudi Arabia said the oil price should be somewhere between $70 and $80 a barrel, rather than the current level of over $100 a barrel.

"We don't want the West to go and find alternatives, because, clearly, the higher the price of oil goes, the more they have incentives to go and find alternatives," said Talal, who is listed by Forbes as the 26th richest man in the world.

Asked about the so-called Arab Spring protests reshaping the political landscape in the Middle East and North Africa, he said the level of unrest in his native country is far below that of other countries because of economic stability and the love of the Saudi people for the monarchy.

Still, the prince said, Saudi Arabia needs to "enact some new laws whereby the participation of the people has to be done, one way or another."